In what can be called a massive case of hypocrisy, a Yorktown, NY assemblyman who serves on the assembly’s Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee, was ticketed and charged for speeding, and of all things, marijuana possession, according to a CBS New York report Friday.

NY Assemblyman Steve KatzImage/Video Screen Shot

59-year-old Republican Assemblyman, Stephen Katz, was charged with the above south of Albany Thursday.

NY State Troopers say Katz was driving 80 mph in a 65 mph zone when he was stopped. Katz’s car was reaking of marijuana and the Assemblyman turned over a small bag of what appeared to be marijuana in a cooperative manner.

The man who once warned his constituents, “Our community has been stricken with an increase in drug use and drunk driving by our youngest citizens”, called his situation an “unfortunate incident”.

“I will not let this incident impede my public service and my calls for real mandate relief, a better economic climate and better services for those in need in New York,” Katz’s statement read. “This should not overshadow the work I have done over the years for the public and my constituency. I am confident that once the facts are presented that this will quickly be put to rest.”

Katz, a veterinarian, was elected in 2010.

Katz’s Democratic opponent, Andrew Falk, said the following, “It’s shocking behavior and inappropriate behavior, and as an attorney, I see the devastating effects of people who drive under the influence of drugs and alcohol,” Falk said. “I think no matter what your feelings are about what people do in the privacy of their own homes, this is just unacceptable conduct.”

Other have called Katz’s actions “hypocritical”.

About the Author

Robert Herriman - Writer, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch. Robert has been covering news in the areas of health, world news and politics for a variety of online news sources. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the website, Outbreak News Today.

Anyone that wants marijuana is already getting it. Legalizing and regulating marijuana is not adding another harmful intoxicant to society, legalizing gives people the legal opportunity to make the SAFER CHOICE! Alcohol, tobacco, many Rx drugs, many over the counter drugs, even caffeine, aspirin and non-aspirin, can all be deadly and are well documented as being the direct cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths in the USA every year.

In 1988, after reviewing all scientific evidence brought forth in a lengthy lawsuit against the government’s prohibition of medical marijuana, the DEA’s own administrative law judge (Judge Francis Young) wrote: “MARIJUANA, IN ITS NATURAL FORM, IS ONE OF THE SAFEST THERAPEUTICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES KNOWN. IN STRICT MEDICAL TERMS, MARIJUANA IS SAFER THAN MANY FOODS WE COMMONLY CONSUME.”

No person of any age, in all of recorded history, has ever died from marijuana, marijuana is nontoxic. Many have died from marijuana prohibition and tens of millions have been caged or otherwise seriously harmed. The US arrests someone on marijuana charge every 38 seconds. In 2010, 52.1% of the 1,638,846 total arrests for prohibition violations were for marijuana, making a calculated total of 853,839. Would you rather have your kid locked up with killers and child molesters or would you prefer to do your own proper parenting?